1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for cleaning dentures.
2. Prior Art Discussion
The daily cleaning of dentures is conventionally accomplished by simply soaking the dentures in a cleaning fluid. This method of cleaning is not effective in removing stains from the dentures or food particles from the crevices between the teeth because the cleaning fluid is stagnant. More elaborate denture cleaning methods employ supersonic vibrations. These methods are expensive and require specific cleaning solutions.
U.S. No. 4,007,751 discloses an apparatus for washing fruit or vegetables. It consists of a vessel with a cover. A removable basket having a lattice-type of wall for holding the foodstuff to be washed is placed in the vessel and tightly closed by a disk attached to the underside of the cover. Within the cover, there is provided a mechanism for manually rotating the basket for agitation so as to distribute the wash water over the foodstuff through an opening on the cover a plurality of holes on the disk.
U.S. No. 2,706,992, U.S. No. 2,416,475 and U.S. No. 3,074,773 are all related to cleaning devices for watch parts. Containers made of wire mesh hold the watch parts. They are removably attached to a cover. An electrical agitator is also provided. None of this apparatus is suitable for cleaning dentures although it superficially resembles the apparatus of the present invention. Therefore there is a need for a convenient yet efficient device for cleaning dentures.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and effective denture cleaning device. A further objective is to provide a new method for cleaning dentures.